Ward Halloween party

This is my latest attempt at cake decorating and surprisingly no bakeries are lined up at my door waiting to hire me. Natalie came home and glanced at the gooey mess and asked me, "What is that?" Well thanks to Heidi and her candy corns, if you squint your eyes and use your imagination, it's a cat. Thought I would bring some laughs as well as sugar to the ward party. Once again, we overwhelmed the Italians. One man came up to me and looked at all the sweets and said, "where's the meat?" But, the children loved all the little treat bags filled with American Snickers and Twix, and had fun decorating the pumpkin shaped sugar cookies I made, with frosting and sprinkles. Natalie had to show them how to frost a cookie-- they were skeptical at first of putting more sugar on a cookie.

This is our mission President Jeff Accerson and his wife Karen and daughter Stephanie. They are from Pleasant Grove in UT. Couldn't ask for a nicer family to serve out here! I have to laugh as Karen has been here as long as me and when people speak to us in Italian she looks at me and asks me what they said. Like I know....I should just start making up things... no wait... I already do that.... usually I only get half of what the members are saying.

And here are my Italian friends Sylvia Gudaira on the left and Laura Celestine on the right. They always make me laugh. (They are my Gifts of Tongues from Heavenly Father--they both speak English) For this picture they said they had to cover themselves up with shawls and bags as they can't stand by the American "Barbie" or they will look like as round as pumpkins in comparison.

Italians celebrate Nov. 1 All Saints Day but they have fun celebrating our Holiday as well.

They just don't get why we beg for candy door to door and why we take a perfectly good vegetable like a pumpkin and turn it into pie and bread, (they make pumpkin soup and pumpkin ravioli) Now if they'd only watch Mary Poppins they'd know "a spoonful of sugar helps the "vegetable" go down...."